January 2019 Office Technology

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CONTENTS Volume 25 • No. 7

FEATURE ARTICLES 10

The Mega Dealerships Leaders discuss acquisitions, growth strategies

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS Managing Meter Collection Dealers share feedback on tools, DCAs & automation

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Compiled by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

by Randy Dazo, Christine Dunne & Carl Schell, Keypoint Intelligence

Today, we see growth acquisitions and strategies within the office technology industry that resemble those that occurred in the 1980s (with Danka and IKON). That said, these initiatives have some diff rences that make today’s “mega dealerships” unique. This article includes interviews with the leaders of seven of these mega dealerships, defined as companies with annual turnovers of at least $100 million.

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This article includes another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s new Dealers Helping Dealers resource, and many of the answers received. Th se answers and others can be found on the BTA website.

AIMED VIEWPOINT 2018 AIMED Conference BTA mailing peer group hosts event Dec. 5-6

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by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

Capture the Magic BTA West hosts event in Las Vegas

AIMED, BTA’s mailing equipment peer group, hosted its 2018 AIMED Conference Dec. 5-6 at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event featured a keynote address led by Steven Monteith of the U.S. Postal Service.

by Brent Hoskins Office Technology Magazine

BTA West hosted its annual Capture the Magic event Dec. 6-7 at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event featured a keynote address, “Four Habits to Radically Increase Productivity & Potential,” led by Dr. Coyte Cooper of Ollin Leadership. The event also included a featured speaker and six additional educational sessions. Featured speaker Mike Marusic of Sharp presented “Changing Our ‘Mental Models’ for Growth.”

SERVICE CONNECTIONS The $200k Field Service Tech Calculate your service tech hourly burden rate

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by Ronelle Ingram Service Professional

“Why must my field service tech generate a $200,000-plus yearly revenue to cover a $25-per-hour wage? ” If you do not know how to calculate the answer, think about attending BTA’s next FIX workshop.

COURTS & CAPITOLS 28

Your Social Media Image Dealers must cultivate successful strategies

by Robert C. Goldberg BTA General Counsel

The dealership owner on the BTA Legal Hotline was irate. He wanted to know how fast I could file a legal suit, obtain an injunction and gather damages from a customer. Cost was not an issue.

He would no longer tolerate the libelous, slanderous and malicious Facebook posts made by his customer. After patiently allowing the dealer to explain his problem and vent his frustration, I began to ask questions, seeking facts to eliminate the emotion of the moment.

D E PA R T M E N T S Business Technology Association

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• BTA Education Calendar • BTA Highlights • BTA Member Benefits

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Executive Director’s Page

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BTA President’s Message

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Advertiser Index

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S PAGE

Build Your Business With BTA Webinars

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ince 2008, the Business Technology Association (BTA) has off red 132 webinars in its monthly Building My Business Webinar Series. Designed to help dealers improve the management of their companies and take full advantage of market opportunities, BTA’s Building My Business Webinars will ultimately help dealers improve their bottom lines — and, they are free to BTA members as a member benefi .

We have recently posted several new webinars to the BTA website. I encourage you to take a look at the topics and register for any that may be of interest to you.

Melissa Whitaker of Melissa Whitaker International will kick off 2019’s Building My Business webinars at 4 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Jan. 23, with “Secret Sauce: Th Missing Link to Closing More Deals.” If you are tired of spinning your wheels and wondering why you are not closing more business, register for this webinar. Whitaker will discuss the top two ingredients in her “secret sauce” to find the missing link on how to build trust and relationships more quickly, close more deals and hold more profi .

In February, Larry Coco of Coco Training & Coaching LLC will present “Selling From the Inside Out.” This webinar will be held at 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Feb. 7. During Coco’s webinar, he will share the plan, processes and detail required to build a vibrant inside business development team that supports outside sales reps by setting appointments for new business opportunities, as well as going wider and deeper with current customers (with services, solutions and applications).

At 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 14, Brian Suerth of Technology Assurance

Group will present “Selling Cybersecurityas-a-Service to Your Customers.” Current events in business, government and politics have brought cybersecurity front and center in the minds of most people. Protecting your customers’ networks must be an initiative in your managed IT services business. During this webinar, you will learn the layers of cybersecurity, the types of solutions that must be off red in your portfolio and how to present their value to the customer to maximize your profi ability on a recurring revenue model.

April’s webinar, “Retaining Top Talent: Stay Interviews,” will be held at 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, April 18. In this webinar, led by Denise Miller of the PathShare HR Services Group at GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp., you will gain insights into: a complete understanding of the stay interview as a method for retaining your employees; how to uncover potential concerns before the exit interview to alleviate avoidable pain points before they become problems; and best practices to designing and executing stay interviews and stay plans.

The last currently scheduled webinar will take place at 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, May 23. Arial Harland of PathShare HR Services will present “Cultivating Your Culture.”

In this webinar, you will gain insights into: n What is culture? Learn how culture weaves throughout your entire organizational system. n Why culture matters: How will focusing on culture today positively impact your organization for years to come? n Building your company culture: Align your organizational system to support your desired culture.

Improve your dealership by attending these upcoming webinars. Visit www.bta. org/BMB to learn more and register. n — Brent Hoskins

Executive Director/BTA Editor/Office echnology Brent Hoskins brent@bta.org (816) 303-4040 Associate Editor Elizabeth Marvel elizabeth@bta.org (816) 303-4060 Contributing Writers Randy Dazo, Keypoint Intelligence www.keypointintelligence.com Christine Dunne, Keypoint Intelligence www.keypointintelligence.com Robert C. Goldberg, General Counsel Business Technology Association Ronelle Ingram, Service Professional Carl Schell, Keypoint Intelligence www.keypointintelligence.com

Business Technology Association 12411 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 941-3100 www.bta.org Member Services: (800) 505-2821 BTA Legal Hotline: (800) 869-6688 Valerie Briseno Marketing Director valerie@bta.org Brian Smith Membership Sales Representative brian@bta.org Photo Credits: Bigstockphoto. Cover created by Bruce Quade, Brand X Studio. ©2019 by the Business Technology Association. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of published material. However, the publisher assumes no liability for errors in articles nor are opinions expressed necessarily those of the publisher.

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BTA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

National Conference to be Held in March

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n March 22-23 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida, the Business Technology Association (BTA) will kick off its 2019 event schedule with the 2019 BTA National Conference. Hosted by BTA Southeast, the event will feature a keynote address led by retired 1st Sgt. Matt Eversmann, hero of Black Hawk Down and the Battle of Mogadishu; four additional educational sessions led by industry leaders (it is my privilege to be among the presenters); two dealer panel discussions; time to network with peers and exhibiting sponsors; a special evening at Epcot; and a Disney theme park ticket of your choice.

The event will kick off at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, March 22, with breakfast, followed by welcoming comments and the keynote address, “Strategic Shock: Surviving the Inevitable Crisis.” A break will follow. Breaks between sessions on both days will give attendees time to network with their fellow dealers and the exhibiting sponsors.

Two educational sessions will follow the break: “Security in the Digital Office of the Future,” led by Dr. Alissa Johnson of Xerox Corp.; and “Leading & Managing in an Era of Disruptive Change: A Practical Guide,” which I will be leading with co-presenter Mitch Morgan of Growth Achievement Partners.

Lunch will be served from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., followed by the third educational session, “How to ‘Capture’ More Customers With Digital Transformation,” led by Mark Hart of ACDI. Thefirst dealer panel, “Succession Planning in a Multigenerational Business,” will be held following Hart’s session.

Moderated by Todd Lee of Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, the panelists will include Tim, Blake and Brice Renegar of Kelly Office

Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with additional panelists to be announced.

Following the panel, a cocktail reception will be held from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. At 7:15 p.m., attendees will board buses to travel to Epcot for a dessert party and the IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth laser and fireworks show.

The second day of the conference will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, with breakfast, followed by opening comments and the final educational session, “Dealer Channel Evolution (A Blueprint for Growth),” led by Sammy Kinlaw of Lexmark International Inc. The second dealer panel will follow Kinlaw’s session. The panel, “Ensuring Your Business Survives a Natural Disaster,” will be moderated by Bob Goldberg, BTA’s general counsel. The panelists will include: Debra Dennis, ProCopy Inc., Greenville, North Carolina; Bob Evans, Function4, Sugar Land, Texas; and Bill James, River Ridge, Louisiana.

A break, followed by closing comments and exhibitor prize drawings, will wrap up the conference by 11:30 a.m. Attendees will be given a ticket to the Disney theme park of their choice to use that afternoon.

Two-for-one BTA member dealer registration is only $199, and if you use the $150 discount code received with your membership, you can get two-for-one registration for only $49! This price includes the Friday and Saturday educational sessions; Friday breakfast, lunch and welcoming reception; Friday dessert party and IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth laser and fireworks show at Epcot; Saturday breakfast; and a Disney theme park ticket to use Saturday afternoon.

For more information or to register, see the ad on pages two and three, or visit www.bta.org/BTAOrlando. I look forward to seeing you in Florida for another great BTA National Conference. n — John Eckstrom

2018-2019 Board of Directors President John Eckstrom Carolina Business Equipment Inc. Columbia, South Carolina johne@cbesc.com President-Elect Bob Evans Function4 Sugar Land, Texas bobevans@function-4.com Vice President Tim Renegar Kelly Office Solutions Winston-Salem, North Carolina trenegar@kellyofficesolutions.com BTA East Tim Seeley Jr. Seeley Office Systems Inc. Glens Falls, NY tseeleyjr@seeleyoffice.com Don Risser Advanced Laser Printer Service & Supplies Inc. Emigsville, PA drisser@alpslaser.com BTA Mid-America Greg Quirk JQ Offi e Equipment Omaha, Nebraska gquirk@jqoffice.com DJ Hastings Hogland Office Equipment Lubbock, TX dj@hoglandofficeworks.com BTA Southeast David Polimeni RITE Technology Sarasota, Florida dpolimeni@ritefl.com Michael Hicks Electronic Business Machines Inc. Lexington, KY mhicks@ebmky.com BTA West Mike Brandon ABC Office Equipment Co. Inc. Spokane, Washington mbrandon@abcoe.com Joe Escamilla Document Systems Oxnard, CA jescamilla@documentsystems.com Immediate Past President Dan Castaneda International Copy Machine Center El Paso, Texas dan@icmc-elp.com Ex-Officio/General Counsel Robert C. Goldberg Schoenberg Finkel Newman & Rosenberg LLC Chicago, Illinois robert.goldberg@sfnr.com

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The Mega Dealerships Leaders discuss acquisitions, growth strategies by: Randy Dazo, Christine Dunne & Carl Schell, Keypoint Intelligence

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oday, we see growth acquisitions and strategies within the office technology industry that resemble those that occurred in the 1980s (with Danka and IKON). That said, these initiatives have some differences that make today’s “mega dealerships” unique. We define a mega dealership as a company with an annual turnover of at least $100 million. This category of resellers has really taken shape over the last 10 years. While there were three or four five years ago, now there are more than a dozen.

Keypoint Intelligence has been tracking the phenomenon of mega dealerships for quite some time now. These companies include (in alphabetical order): Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office; Dex Imaging; Flex Technology Group*; Gordon Flesch; ImageNet Consulting; Impact Networking*; Loffler*; Marco*; Novatech*; Pacific Office Automation*; RJ Young*; UBEO/Ray Morgan Company; and Visual Edge Technology.

This article includes interviews with the leaders of seven of these mega dealerships (the ones marked with asterisks above). The interviews focus on how their businesses became mega dealerships, what they are doing to diversify their businesses, and how they think others can become offi e technology dealers of tomorrow (and maybe even reach mega-dealer status).

Introduction The office technology dealer channel has undergone tremendous transformation since its early days of selling typewriters, calculators and office furniture. This evolution has not always been easy. One signifi ant challenge was the shift from analog to digital. This change took several years, requiring big changes in infrastructure, as well as investments in new technical talent. This transformation brought dealers to a new level, enabling them to tackle IT-related environments.

Today, the focus is shifting to bigger output equipment, IT services and even future office technologies outside of the document industry. The journey has been difficult for some;

acquisitions as well as competitive pressures have drastically reduced the number of office technology dealerships. Th re are now just over 2,000 dealerships, compared to 7,000-plus in the heyday of the 1980s.

But the dealer community is stronger than ever, with robust levels of sophistication, as well as profi ability. And while competition is still strong, some view the office technology dealer channel as being the strongest community of independent companies of any industry. Its local presence, family culture, and robust fleet of service and IT feet on the street give the channel a unique combination of strengths no other channel can provide.

Th n there are the mega dealerships. Over the last five years, these organizations have grown in number from three to 13 — and more are on the way. Th se dealerships, like many others, have fascinating roots and histories of success. Much of this success has come through organic growth but, in many cases, acquisitions have also played a role. Th se are the stories of seven U.S. mega dealerships in today’s office technology industry.

Flex Technology Group Frank Gaspari, CEO “Th re have been two milestones in the history of our company,” says Frank Gaspari, CEO of Flex Technology Group (FTG), headquartered in Mesa, Arizona. “The first was when we opened our doors in 2005 with the goal of being a nationwide organization that’s clearly focused on MPS, particularly with enterprise accounts. The next occurred nine years later when we reached the $50-million revenue mark. At that time, we decided to aggressively expand our infrastructure and business model through our relationship with Oval Partners.”

The entrepreneurial spirit burns bright in Gaspari: During

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his 20s, he founded two office technology While many of FTG’s mega-dealer“You can’t dabble companies in Chicago, Illinois — Column ship peers have deep roots in managed Office Equipment and Image ManufacturIT, there is one area that the company is in managed IT — ing, an MPS house. He sold both to Global not focused on today. “You can’t dabble you have to invest Imaging in 1999 and 2004, respectively. in managed IT — you have to invest in it, in it, have the right And the results of the past three years? have the right experienced people and experienced people Today, FTG has become a $255-million stay committed to its success,” Gaspari and stay committed operation, with more than 1,000 employsays. “We understand that you can’t be ees, compared to a mere 200 employees in great at everything and that there’s a to its success.”

2015. The company has its eye on reachneed for managed IT, but we’ve identiing the $500-million milestone sometime fi d other spaces to pursue. Our train is in 2020. “It’s not a race, but we feel like it’s a realistic goal that rolling down the tracks really fast, so we don’t want to derail we will exceed,” Gaspari says. “We’ve done four acquisitions it, and I’m comfortable with that.” in 2018 and we’d like to bring on $100 million more with new MPS is a $130-million-a-year practice for FTG and it partners next year. Thepipeline is made up primarily of deal- shows no signs of slowing down. Even though the profit ers with $15 million to more than $100 million in revenue.” pool has been shifting more toward hardware as a result The company’s acquisition strategy is simple: FTG seeks of bringing more legacy copier/MFP dealerships under the like-minded businesses that are interested in reinvesting in FTG flag, with its MPS expertise, it is very clear that these the parent company — entrepreneurs who are passionate same dealers will become skilled in selling MPS by leveragabout the future and open to reinventing themselves. The ing FTG-proven MPS initiatives. Gaspari noted that it took continued success of the FTG M&A team can be attributed millions of dollars to build the infrastructure to support to its early involvement in the process. From onboarding enterprise clients 24/7/365 from coast to coast, which is a to shared operations, the company supports the continued competitive diff rentiator for all of its companies. success of the acquired organizations rather than make any “To have teeth in the game is one thing, but to have flesh in attempt to rebuild them. Today, all of FTG’s partners are the game is something entirely diff rent and more meaningsingularly focused on organic growth initiatives and man- ful,” Gaspari says. “We’re about real partnerships with our acage the concept of “low leverage, high profi ability” with quired companies, employees, customers and OEM partners.” passionate employees who will fuel business.

Gaspari has a long history of growing business organicalImpact Networking ly. During the 2008 recession, FTG went from $10 million to Dan Meyer, President $15 million in revenue. As Gaspari explains, some verticals “We help customers manage their are not aff cted by recessions, so the best bet is to hound equipment, their documents, their them. Conversely, he says, when life is great, do not be afraid IT and their brands,” says Dan Meyto make difficult decisions, otherwise there will be double er, president of Impact Networking, the amount of work at the next downturn. headquartered in Lake Forest, IlliThe company sustained consistent growth for the follownois. “Go big or go home. We practice ing six years. By the time FTG had attained $50 million in that to an extreme extent, every day.” revenue, it was the biggest privately held MPS organization Managed IT is one example of how the company is “going in the United States. At that time, according to Gaspari, the big.” When discussions were happening to decide whether company was providing MPS support in all 50 states, cover- or not Impact Networking would enter the arena, the idea of ing nearly 5,000 cities. That is when Oval Partners entered building the practice itself — instead of acquiring an IT house the picture. FTG had always had an “MPS-first” mentality, or outsourcing the work — was the most attractive option. Afbut with more capital came more acquisitions, including ter a lengthy search, the company found the right person to lead Caltronics and the Connecticut-based MPS house Flo-Tech. the charge. Five years ago there were just eight IT employees, FTG’s mission is to increase revenue organically by 10 per- but today that number has skyrocketed to more than 100. And cent a year, top line. The company initiated a theme, FTG OG even though the company had some semblance of an IT piece (organic growth), that all the companies have rallied around. from day one, it was all billable hours and nothing long term.

The core source of organic revenue growth for the company “We were putting out fires and chasing our tails,” Meywill be office hardware, MPS and production print, which Gas- er says. “Now, however, our average IT deal sits at $5,000 a pari is confi ent will take a $15-million leap forward in 2019, month over an almost five-year term — and contracts for thanks to partnerships with Canon, Konica Minolta and Ricoh. $20,000 a month are far more frequent than with copiers.

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Managed IT represents about 23 percent was good and the money we spent to get “Our employees today of our revenue.” our name out there during the tough Organic growth, of which managed times led us to where we are.” put culture at the top IT is definitely a part, is nothing new to The company’s plan over the comof their lists of why they Meyer and Frank Cucco, who co-founded ing five years is to attain $300 million like working at Impact Impact Networking in 1999. For 14 years in revenue (22-percent year-over-year Networking. We see a prior to that, both of them sold liquid-tongrowth, which does not include any return on the investment er Savins before working for two startups. acquisitions). Meyer would also like to The experience they gained during this reach 50 percent of revenue from manwe make for culture ... ” time gave them confi ence that they could aged services by then and eyes an even build a business. Today, the company has more well-balanced portfolio. approximately 550 employees, with 16 offices in four states.

“When Frank and I put together our business plan in Impact Networking’s cumulative year-over-year growth 1999, a positive culture was at the top of the list,” Meyer rate spanning nearly two decades is 27 percent. “Most of that says. “Our employees today put culture at the top of their is organic,” Meyer says. “In 2016, we did $58 million in revenue. lists of why they like working at Impact Networking. We see The next year it went up to $96 million — we had more feet on a return on the investment we make for culture and we don’t the street that led to more activity, and that’s when managed IT want it to be disrupted. really took off. Our 2018 revenue will be roughly $118 million.”

“Private equity can be attractive, no doubt about it,” he Given that the company sells a wide array of hardware continues. “Private equity, when involved, also looks at ex(including displays), software (reseller of DocuWare and Ko- penditures and might think it’s a little too much spend to fax) and services, there is no doubt that Impact Networking better our culture. The way we see it though, culture and will continue to grow organically. Meyer shared the current organic growth are tied to each other.” revenue breakdown: hardware at 33 percent, supplies at 24 percent, service at 20 percent and solutions (software, IT Loffler and the marketing group) at 23 percent.

Companies Still, acquisitions have contributed to the company’s success.

Jim Loffl , “In our history we’ve bought five organizations, all of which CEO (top, far happened in the last 10 years,” Meyer says. “Th y range from left); James relatively small to the one we did last year where we purchased Loffl , IT our third-largest competitor in Chicago. From our inception Solutions until now, 34 percent of our revenue is from acquisitions.”

Group Vice And what does Impact Networking’s acquisition strategy President; look like? As Meyer explains, the company is not just after and Gary Volbert, Vice President of a sales list. It wants to retain and help further grow the exBusiness Services and Vice President pertise of the purchased organizations’ employees, too. Anof Marketing other critical facet is that the dealer’s strong customer base While Loffler Companies, headmust be buoyed by contracts that have a strong commitquartered in Bloomington, Minnement to recurring revenue. sota, can certainly be categorized as The recession that began in 2008 was a make-or-break successful, co-founder and CEO Jim time period for Impact Networking. Along with buying a Loffler and his son James, vice presidealership in Wisconsin, the company expanded into Indent of the IT solutions group, are dianapolis, Indiana, and built a distribution center. Th n, focused on retaining the culture of on top of all that — including tight purse strings — Cucco doing right by the employees, the customers and the commade a bold call by partnering with the Chicago Black- munity. “We’re honored to be considered a mega dealer, but hawks when the team had literally no fan base and the cost it’s the way we work with each other and with our clients of the contract was very high. that makes us great at what we do,” Jim says.

“We were trying to take the next big leap,” Meyer says.

“For a big company, we try to feel small,” James adds. “We “We’d already increased our footprint exponentially, but don’t want our customers to feel like numbers — we know revenue was stuck at $29 million from 2008 to 2011. Every ex- their names and they know ours.” pense was studied — even coff e — and headcount fell from The emphasis on culture as well as “riding the right 180 employees to 130. But we didn’t shrink, client retention waves” has boosted Loffler’s revenue to approximately $115 14 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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million. A company of around 520 emwhich supports clients across the Unit“There are great ployees today, Jim clearly remembers ed States. (For multiple years, the comwhen he and his wife Darcy began sellpany has ranked number one nationcompanies out there ing mini cassette dictation machines ally for first-call service eff ctiveness that don’t fit our culture ($100 to $600 apiece) from their garage

by BEI Services.) and we pass on those in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1986.

“Th re are great companies out ... if they don’t fit our It is crazy to think that the fax mathere that don’t fit our culture and we culture, we pass. chine would represent a major move pass on those,” James says. “Th y could forward, given where the world is today, have the best technology stack, they And we have passed.” but that is exactly what helped turn the could have high-performing sales, but tide for Loffler. “The fax machine was a if they don’t fit our culture, we pass. bigger-ticket item and there were clearly no leaders of the And we have passed.” technology in our area,” Jim says. “So it gave us an outstandOne piece of advice the team has for other dealers is to ing opportunity to grow market share quickly. Even better, do what is right by their clients. When one of its biggest custhere was aftermarket with the consumables and paper.” tomers today had to declare bankruptcy during the 2009 reMore recently, the shift to IT services has been another cession, the company stood by the customer when its other big lift for the company, especially with the imaging busi- “partners” took out their service, equipment and people. ness “at the top or on its way down.” IT, which includes man- Loffler gave them equipment and support, and worked with aged and professional services in areas like security and the them to get through the tough time. Thecompany recovered cloud, generates about $25 million annually for Loffler and and, today, Loffler is its trusted partner. is on track once again for more than 20-percent growth in Loffler, which has seen about half of its growth come 2018. “We have close to 100 employees on the IT team, so I organically and the other half through acquisition, aims look back to 2006 and think, ‘Man, there were only three or to grow to a $150-million business in three years and a four of us,’” says James, who is responsible for this part of the $316-million business in 10 years. business and started in the area of telephony in 2006.

“It’s great to be considered a mega dealer, but staying “Successful technology companies are like surfers: Th y humble and making sure you’re focusing on the fundamenwait, look behind them and seek out the right wave to tals, the human fundamentals — treating people with kindcatch,” Jim says. “It’s a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill ness and respect — is central to our mission,” Jim says. “The and a lot of listening to customers. Th y wait for that next world needs more of that.” product to come along and then they paddle like crazy. And then you catch the wave, hopefully with a product or service Marco that’s going to give you a very long, successful journey into Jeff au, CEO the future.”

“You don’t have to be an analyst to Facilities management is another area that sets the comunderstand that the print industry pany apart and, along with MPS and IT services, has pushed is in decline, so you need to have a the services revenue share to 60 percent. “We have about good transition plan,” says Jeff Gau, 150 employees who run print shops and mailrooms, provide CEO of Marco. “Ours is two-pronged: litigation support for law firms, do scanning services, shipWe put a lot of emphasis on being an ping and receiving, etc., which allows the customer to focus IT company, not just a copier dealer, on their core business,” says Gary Volbert, vice president of and we’ve established an acquisition strategy.” business services and vice president of marketing.

This approach has helped propel the St. Cloud, MinneJust as important as picking the right technology and ser- sota-based company, which started as a small typewriter vices to sell is choosing the right employees to hire and the shop, to a leading role in the office technology channel. right companies to acquire, the trio says. Because Loffler is Marco generates approximately $400 million annually and a family business and is not owned by shareholders or an in- employs about 1,400 people. And, while its footprint has travestment company, it can take its time finding the right or- ditionally been in the Midwest, the company has been exganizations to purchase versus trying to grow the company panding farther east — most recently with the acquisition as quickly as possible. Still, Loffler has grown its footprint of Phillips Office Systems, a 140-person company with 10 quite nicely — from Minnesota to Wisconsin and the Da- locations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. kotas. With a home base in the upper Midwest, Loffler is “If you build a strong organization, people are attracted proud of its PrintVision managed print services business, to it,” Gau says. That includes job candidates, who nowadays 16 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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appreciate the focus on IT. Marco’s IT Gau shared advice for other dealservices business is now a $200-million ers, regardless of their size. First, they “The world of IT provides practice, which far outpaces achieveshould be prepared to expand into new a bigger growth ments by competing mega dealerships, areas when the existing spaces are in opportunity, partially according to Gau. The company has decline and/or commoditized. While because it’s always been selling voice and network services IT is certainly a growing space to move evolving. This certainly since 1985, A/V technology since 2002 into, profi able areas tied to print inand managed IT since 2009. clude managed print, document softadds challenges Roughly 450 of Marco’s 750 engineers ware solutions, ECM, and both producand complexity ... ” are on the IT side of the business. Hightion and wide-format print. level certifi ations for businesses like Another recommendation is shifting Cisco and HP (beyond printers and copiers) make a real im- to a service-based business versus being a simple product pression on customers: If the company can secure an IT deal reseller. Not only do services steer the conversation away with a particular organization, an output hardware deal is from price, but they are more impervious to a recession. much more likely to happen.

This was a lesson learned during 1991 — the only year Mar“The world of IT provides a bigger growth opportunity, co lost money. “That’s when we learned that contracted serpartially because it’s always evolving,” Gau says. “This cer- vices and recurring revenue were better than project-based tainly adds challenges and complexity, but with these come sales transactions, because you had to hunt to eat all the increased value, profi ability and sales. The IT business has time,” Gau says. seen substantial organic growth every year.”

Today, 40 percent of the company’s business comes from Marco completed its first acquisition in 2005 and has recurring revenue (and 45 percent from services). Marco since purchased 41 other organizations. The company fi- has perhaps moved full circle, so to speak, as the business nanced its own growth until 2015, at which time it part- originated with a recurring revenue model for typewriters nered with the private equity firm Norwest Equity Partners. involving ribbons as consumables and a maintenance con“This has allowed us to continue to do what we were doing, tract for the device. but on a much larger scale,” Gau says.

“The good news about me not being only a copier guy is Marco is a national company. Along with the purchase of that I don’t get hung up on what the competition is doing,” Phillips Office Systems, the company acquired two dealer- Gau says. “We need to focus on our own best practices, our ships in Michigan earlier this year. Going forward, Gau has own growth strategies and executing on our strategies. We his eye on more acquisition targets in states like Texas, and should never worry about what somebody else is doing.” he is not opposed to expanding west either. Moreover, with each new business brought in under the Marco banner, IT Novatech services — through IT firm purchases or the use of current Darren Metz, CEO resources — are added.

Novatech, formerly NovaCopy, hit “A lot of dealers say they sell IT services, but they only do two major milestones by the end of so in one or two market locations,” Gau says. “It’s hard to do 2018: The company turned 20 years it on a national basis.” old in December, which is relatively That said, the company has distinct IT and copier/MFP young for a copier/MFP dealership sales groups — largely because the diff rent businesses reof its size. More importantly, it offiquire diff rent strategies. Th re is a president of the IT comcially became a member of the megapany, as well as a president of the copier/MFP company (who dealership community with more than $100 million in anhappens to be Gau’s brother Steve). Thecompanies have diff r- nual revenues. ent leadership, management, technical people, compensation As one of the newest mega dealerships, Novatech’s growth models and metrics. trajectory skyrocketed when the company recapitalized Gau would like to see the business grow at a rate of $75 to with Trivest, a private equity firm specializing in founder$100 million a year. He expects about half of this growth will and family-owned businesses. “Before Trivest we were dobe organic, while the other half will be achieved through ac- ing about one acquisition per year,” says Darren Metz, CEO quisitions — that has been the pattern in recent years. “Or- of Novatech, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. “Since ganic growth is better as that shows strength in the busi- the merger, we have completed three more, with a goal to ness,” Gau says. “You can buy yourself into a big company, complete one per quarter.” Today, Novatech has about 400 but that doesn’t necessarily make you any good.” employees with 12 branches serving customers in Alabama, 18 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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a pioneer in cloud computing that did Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Misnot survive the dot-com bust of 2001. souri, Tennessee and Texas.

“We are careful not to At the time, Novatech generated less So, Novatech is now a “platform” orruin acquired companies than $500,000 in annual turnover and ganization, where it has established a with ... bureaucracy that was losing money. “I made some perfoundation with scalable operational focuses on internal cost sonal life-changing decisions that year excellence and an integration strategy reductions, rather because I believed in this company and to acquire other organizations. “The the opportunities aff rded by changing current trend reminds me of the similar than externally on technology,” he says. “It was a very scary ‘roll-ups’ that occurred in the ’80s and customer satisfaction.“ and uncertain time, but I bet the farm ’90s when Danka and IKON started out on Novatech.” as single dealerships that subsequently The company forged on, establishing core company valattracted deep-pocketed, institutional investors and comues like a family culture and serving the customer first — menced a frenzy of acquisitions.

“Fortunately, we can learn from their mistakes, such as helping bring the company to where it is today.

“For example, when it comes to our company and cultiensuring we don’t lose that small company culture and that customers’ needs come first,” he continues. “We are careful vating company growth, I hired Andrew Heggem four years not to ruin acquired companies with misguided bureau- ago as a person for our national accounts order desk. Later, cracy that focuses on internal cost reductions, rather than I learned that he dropped out of law school prior to coming to Novatech, but at the same time had taken a deep interexternally on customer satisfaction.”

Metz joined Novatech three years after providing seed est in learning about the company and the copier industry. capital as a side project to another business he owned — As we started doing acquisitions, I asked him to help with

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three of them, which all turned out to acquirers to see how our opportunity be very successful. Eventually we sponstacks up.”

“We take technology sored his law degree and now he is diThe stronger message here is for BTA and link it to customer rector of M&A for the organization. He dealers to think seriously about diversiproblems, but the also helped out in the sale to Trivest; he fi ation if they have not done so already. relationships we is only 30 years old.”

And for those who lack the expertise or maintain and grow Over time, Novatech has branched out desire to reinvent themselves as maninto a variety of new areas. The company aged service providers, merger opporare really the heart is now heavily into production print, mantunities with mega dealerships may be of the matter.“ aged IT and network services, and large worth exploring in 2019. format. Also, “3D printing is a $10-million annual business for us,” Metz says. “Some of these devices sell Pacific Office Automati for more than $200,000 each and generate $10,000 per month Doug Pitassi, President & CEO in aftermarket revenue, which we believe is a strategic fit for While acquiring organizations organizations like ours that grew up in the BTA Channel.” can turboboost a business into new According to Metz, 3D fulfillment is like production stratospheres, Pacific Office Automaprint, so any dealer that has been successful with “big iron” tion (POA) is laser-focused on organic may have what it takes to succeed in 3D. Dealers must be growth. Yes, the company did purable to handle complex devices and understand diff rent chase Yost Office Systems recently, audience needs. “It’s not about speeds and feeds, it’s about but with up to 90 percent of its revthe application requirements of your target audience, which enue coming organically, the message is clear: “Be growthincludes very smart engineers who expect high levels of minded, pay attention to retention, displace the competition technical knowledge,” he says. “Some customers may need and win!” This just so happens to be POA’s slogan for 2019. precision quality versus others that need strength in mateIn reality, this has been the philosophy ever since Terry rials. It’s knowing your customers, every detail of their busi- Newsom founded the company in 1976. Rather than exnesses and understanding what the important result of the panding through countless acquisitions, POA prefers to product is. BTA members prepared to learn new application start locations from scratch to build out its footprint, such solutions and hire technical salespeople can flourish in the as what it has accomplished in Boise, Idaho, and Southern nascent 3D industry.”

California over the last year. And, considering that the com3D printing represents about 10 percent of Novatech’s pany has experienced at least 1-percent growth in all 40business and Metz expects double-digit growth in this plus years of its existence save for 1985, who is to say that space to continue. In 2018, production print accounted for POA does not know what it is doing.

20 percent of Novatech’s revenue, managed IT/network ser“We take technology and link it to customer problems, vices for 10 percent, large-format print for 5 percent and but the relationships we maintain and grow are really the document solutions for about 5 percent. heart of the matter,” says Doug Pitassi, POA’s straight-shootThe other 50 percent was the traditional A3 and A4 print ing and humble president and CEO (also a minority sharebusiness, which Metz expects to gradually decline over holder). “Why spend so much money on buying businesses time. “With a 3-percent compound annual decrease in print when we can spend money hiring the right people, developvolumes combined with decreases in unit volume and av- ing employees’ knowledge and skills, promoting from witherage sales price per unit, we are not optimistic about the in and making organic growth the top priority?”

10-year view of our traditional office copier business,” Metz When Pitassi joined the privately held company (and it says. “By 2025, we can foresee office printing volume and of- still is) in 1989 as a fi ld sales manager, POA was in but a few fi e printing industry revenue at half of what they are today. markets and had revenue of approximately $7 million. He “For dealers that have made the shift to IT services and rose to vice president of sales in the mid-’90s and has been other sustainable products and services, congratulations,” in his current role since 2007. Though he is the company vihe continues. “Dealers that still get the bulk of their revenue sionary, he admits he is not much of an ideas guy, but he is from legacy copier business may consider the numerous op- adept at taking someone else’s concept and running with it portunities for liquidity and transformation support avail- in directions that benefit OA. able from the current crop of consolidators in our space.

The company, which uses a decentralized model, toDealers in that frame of mind are invited to compare the day has 25 locations in eight states in the American West success and business plans of Novatech with other strategic (headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon), with roughly $340 20 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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million in revenue. “We took 28 years to RJ Young “We’re not smarter than reach $100 million in revenue, eight to Chip Crunk, CEO reach $200 [million], five to reach $300 RJ Young has other organizations, [million], and now we’re hoping to reach come a long way we’re not more creative, $400 [million] in three and, then, by since it first but there’s honor in 2022, $500 [million],” Pitassi says. opened its doors work. Our employees This means — for those of you doin 1955. Originalunderstand that and they ing the math — that the bulk of POA’s ly called the Robgrowth has been achieved over the past ert J. Young Commake things happen.“ decade, under Pitassi’s watch. pany, it started with four employees and It could have gone another way, hownow has approximately 650 employees ever. “The ’08 recession was the turning point in Pacific Of- operating in 26 locations in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, fi e Automation becoming a mega dealer, if you can believe North Carolina and Tennessee (headquartered in Memphis, it,” he says. “We had to quantify the offset. Loan approvals Tennessee). Today, RJ Young is run by Chip Crunk, whose were down to 52 percent. Studies show that print volumes father purchased the company in 1986. decline at a faster rate during recessions. But it was our When Chip was elevated to president and CEO a decade people, all of them, who respected the POA engine and gave later, RJ Young had revenue of $18 million a year. His vision 30 percent more eff rt that helped us actually grow by 5 per- was to get to $100 million. Thecompany made its first acquicent that year. sition — a managed services house — in 2005, and has since “And it didn’t stop,” he continues. “Thecompany grew by 2 bought roughly 20 organizations, which helped RJ Young percent in 2010, then 7 percent in 2011 — we’ve had double- grow not only its footprint, but its market share as well. digit growth in each and every year since. Again, mostly orThe company still does two or three acquisitions a year. ganically. We’re not smarter than other organizations, we’re Crunk’s strategy is to look for good entrepreneurs who run not more creative, but there’s honor in work. Our employees successful businesses. “When we acquire an organization, understand that and they make things happen.” we don’t change or eliminate any customer-facing perPOA sells virtually everything: MFPs, printers and soft- sonnel because we don’t want the customer experience to ware (private and public cloud) for the office; production change,” he says. “Sales and service don’t change either; just (largest reseller of Konica Minolta and Ricoh color devices the business name on the business card, which in all cases in the U.S.) and wide format (largest reseller of Océ in the adds more credibility to that organization.”

U.S.); MPS, managed IT and facilities management; mail RJ Young is 100-percent owned and operated through its systems (Pitney Bowes); unifi d communications (MYtel); own money and investments. The company has its own fiand security cameras. nancing organization for clients, which allows that group Pitassi sees the profit pool diversifying even more down to get creative with leasing and more flexible when putting the road. “The‘smart workplace’ excites me, as that will lead together deals. to us being even more of a one-stop shop and providing a Having capital has allowed RJ Young to dive into areas total ownership to the customer,” he says. “It will add value such as production print. In fact, it began selling this techto our IT portfolio, which represents just 7 percent (around nology earlier than many other dealerships. The company $23 million) of our revenue. But to see an IT help desk go has been in the production space for a decade and revenue from five people to more than 50 in six short years, it’s been has almost doubled each year. “Production isn’t for every a fantastic ride. We’re never going to be the lowest-cost bid, dealer,” Crunk says. “It’s a cash-intensive business. For dealbut we continue to find qualifi d people who can help us ers $20 million and below, it may be hard to get into. You deliver a great customer experience. The opportunity with need the infrastructure and the technical training, invenIT is double, triple, quadruple what print ever was and it’s a tory requirements are greater, and customers must be conmajor initiative for us.” tinuously running. Profi iency in production processes is All in all, POA is a thriving organization that is bucking also critical, particularly with demanding customers.” the trend of the majority of its peers. “We respect the acquiThenet-net is that the company has been able to win over sition strategies of other mega dealerships, but that’s simply traditional print service providers with its growing digital not our style,” Pitassi says. “Organic growth and company production services business, where production has now culture, which we branded the ‘Culture Club,’ are symbiotic become more than 20 percent of its hardware sales as well. as they’re both tied to success — success with the family, The other growth area for RJ Young is in network servicwith the community and with customer loyalty.” es. “This is an area that not every dealer may be successful 22 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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facility burned to the ground,” Crunk with,” Crunk says. “With network servic“The key is to have the says. “We still had a growth year, but es, we currently operate in only two marit was a challenging couple of years. kets, but we’re planning on expanding right people onboard.

The good news is when it came to the into other regions. Dealers can’t manage We go through all 600 recessions, we never had a downturn it like the copier business and need to people and ask them — that is, it was quite the opposite, as run it as a totally separate business. Netwhat they need and we were able to help customers as a work services represent about 5 percent give them the tools ... trusted consultant.” of our business.”

For RJ Young, the secret to its success When it comes to its core business, to be successful.” may not be too much of a secret at all.

RJ Young works with many of the OEMs: “The key is to have the right people onRicoh and Canon primarily on the A3 side, and Lexmark and HP for A4. “The manufacturers have board,” he says. “We go through all 600 people and ask them all been great,” Crunk says. “We don’t ask a lot from them; just what they need and give them the tools and the resources to to give us good-quality products where we can make money.” be successful. We put a lot into our people because it’s our When it comes to profi ability, the company has seen people the customers trust.” some shifts in hardware margins going down, but not a lot of change with service and supplies. “A lot of profit is coming Summary Thesecret to becoming a mega dealer is not really a secret from our financial services and leasing side,” Crunk says.

“Again, it’s not something all dealers can do, but it has be- at all. It is a combination of attributes that many dealers already have today: being an entrepreneur, having visioncome a strong part of our business.”

But it has not been all roses for RJ Young. “In 1998, our ary leadership and maintaining a strong, small-company

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We all know that the traditional culture with big-company goals and a We all know that the copy output and print industry will plan. Yes, some have financial backing continue to decline, and it is critical and investment, but others are growing traditional copy output for office technology dealers to invest with their own investments, hard work and print industry will and transform in order to stay relevant and sweat, and similar business plans continue to decline, and competitive in our market, as they to expand and acquire. Th se leaders and it is critical for office have done in the past. Some may take are looking for other good leaders who technology dealers to on the paths and advice of the mega may not have the desire or capital to dealers, while others may partner in expand, yet want to become part of a invest and transform ... order to take advantage of scale. Most larger organization that can grow into importantly, dealers must take action. new technologies.

When it comes to new technology investments, these Th y must do something that goes beyond investigation dealers have forged their way into production, 3D and wide- — that becomes part of a strategy and gets implemented. format printing. Th se devices are close to our industry, but Like in the past, it may take that little bit of entrepreneurrequire diff rent sets of skills and investments. Additionally, ial spirit and fire to move the needle forward. And, who dealers have transformed and shifted into areas outside our knows, maybe one day your dealership will be on the metraditional industry, such as managed IT/networking, VoIP, ga-dealership map. n Randy Dazo (below left) is the group director for Keypoint digital displays and conferencing systems (to name a few).

Intelligence-InfoTrends’ office technology services and Th se areas, too, take on completely new levels of capability and technical expertise that may be challenging for dealers Keypoint Intelligence-Buyers Lab’s (BLI’s) office editorial and analyst team. With more than 25 years of experience who have not fully embraced or invested in IT resources. in the industry, Dazo leads InfoTrends’ and BLI’s continuous information service practices in the office technology area on a global basis.

Prior to joining InfoTrends, he held senior positions at Ricoh, Sharp, Net2Phone, Minolta and Canon.

He can be reached at randy.dazo@keypointintelligence.com.

Christine Dunne is a consultant for Keypoint IntelligenceInfoTrends’ Office Technology & Services Group. Prior to joining InfoTrends, she was a copywriter at BzzAgent and a web content writer for FlipKey. Dunne has also written about search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising for WordStream, worked for several years as a news reporter, and edited the entire user guide for enLabel’s design software. She can be reached at christine.dunne@keypointintelligence.com.

Carl Schell is managing editor for KeypointIntelligence-BLI. With more than a decade’s worth of experience at BLI, he manages workflow for Keypoint Intelligence-BLI’s Office Technology & Services Group. Schell also manages both editorial content on the KPI corporate site and the BLI newsletter. For the past few years, his primary interest has been on the channel, specifically writing dealer-focused articles, while his prior responsibilities included producing reports on printers/MFPs and software. He can be reached at carl.schell@ keypoint intelligence. com. Visit www.keypoint intelligence. com.

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Capture the Magic BTA West hosts event in Las Vegas by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

B

TA West hosted its annual Capture the Magic event Dec. 6-7 at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Th event featured a keynote address, “Four Habits to Radically Increase Productivity & Potential,” led by Dr. Coyte Cooper of Ollin Leadership. The event also included a featured speaker and six additional educational sessions.

Featured speaker Mike Marusic of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America presented “Changing Our ‘Mental Models’ for Growth.” The six additional sessions were: “2018 Top Trends, Threats & Defenses,” led by Bob Goldberg of BTA; “Selling From the Inside Out,” led

by Larry Coco of Coco Training & Coaching LLC; “How to Deliver Ongoing Success With Periodic Business Reviews,” led by Laurie McLevish of Print Audit and the Managed Print Services Association; “Animals, Bacon & Craft Beer: The ABC’s of Creating a Winning Culture in the Modern Workplace,” led by James Foxall of Tigerpaw Software Inc.; “The Principles of Change Management: Lessons Learned on the Back of a Personal Water Craft,” led by Sally Brause of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.; and “Digital & Social Media ‘Quick-Start’ Tips for the Time-Strapped BTA Dealer,” led by Harry Hecht, a business coach, industry advisor and consultant.

TheCapture the Magic exhibiting sponsors: ACDI, Agent Dealer, BEI Services, Bicom Systems, Brother (keynote sponsor), Clover Imaging Group, Crawford Thomas, Datablaze, Demand, ECi Software Solutions, Epson, ESP AMETEK, Express Sales Corp., FP Mailing Solutions, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp., Image Star, Imaging Solutions Direct, Katun, Laserfi he, LD Products, LEAF, LMI Solutions, Muratec, OKI Data Americas, Panasonic Scanners, Print Management Partners, Sentry File, Static Control, Supplies Network, Supplies Wholesalers, Technology Assurance Group (breaks sponsor), TIAA Bank, Tigerpaw (lunch sponsor), TonerCycle/InkCycle, Toshiba, Unitone, Wells Fargo and Xerox (breakfast sponsor). n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at (816) 303-4040 or brent@bta.org.

Clockwise from top: Cooper presents his keynote address; Cameron Powell (left) of Datablaze visits with Roger Gorman of General Mailing Equipment Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, during a break; the Capture the Magic event included a keynote address, a featured speaker and six additional educational sessions; and 2018-19 BTA West President Mike McCurdy serves as the event’s emcee.

26 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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Mental Models M

Clockwise from top left: Goldberg; Coco; McLevish; Hecht; Brause; and Foxall.

Clockwise from top: Rohan Santora (left) of Agent Dealer visits with Mark Javitch (center) of Elevated Printech, Omaha, Nebraska, and Walt Buyea of Advanced Business Solutions Inc., Lubbock, Texas, during a break; Marusic presents the featured educational session; and Brian Suerth (left) of Technology Assurance Group visits with Jeriel Farias of International Copy Machine Center, El Paso, Texas, during a break.

ike Marusic, president and CEO of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America, presented “Changing Our ‘Mental Models’ for Growth,” as the Capture the Magic featured speaker. He challenged dealers to view their businesses in a different way in order to achieve continued growth.

“I want to talk about something that is very important in the industry — ‘mental models,’” Marusic said. “What is a mental model? It’s how your mind wraps around a topic and the boundaries you put around a topic ... So often, when we talk in the copier industry about ‘How do we improve the business? How do we grow our business?’ we’re confined within that idea of the copier alone.”

Marusic shared a slide titled “Available Revenue Shrinking,” showing the imaging industry’s declining numbers. “This is what the business looks like right now,” he said. “You have the units declining and selling prices declining. You have the page volumes declining and the amounts you can charge for those page volumes declining ... That’s what we are facing, and so everybody is trying to find the next thing.”

Consequently, there is a focus in the industry today on the promise of “disruption,” Marusic said, noting that he does not embrace that focus. “What we end up doing is just more of the same, right?” he said. “What does disruption look like? Maybe we’ll change our pricing models or maybe we’ll reduce service calls, but it’s still within that mental model of ‘copiers.’”

Instead, it is important to embrace a broader view of the industry, Marusic said. “You’re in the right business — the informationsharing business, managing information for your customers,” he said. “You really need to think about what we’re doing. Is it ‘information sharing’ or are we only about the prints?”

If it is “only about the prints,” Marusic reminded attendees about his “Available Revenue Shrinking” slide. “But if it’s about information sharing, the world is our oyster,” he said. “There are a lot of different things we can do ... [But] you have got to think about other consumption models and, most importantly, you have got to think about the changes in user requirements.”

Those changes are the result of the rise in the number of millennials in the workplace, Marusic explained, citing the emergence of informal work environments and the requirement for mobility. “If you look at how an office works today, the largest single group in the office is millennials,” he said. “If we ignore what is happening around us and just focus on ‘How do we get more clicks?’ we’re missing the bigger picture.”

For dealers, Marusic said, that “bigger picture” could include offering such information-sharing technologies as electronic whiteboard displays or video conferencing. He also cited the ultimate focus at Sharp of “follow-me work” whereby as “you move around the building, your phone identifies where you are in the building” and in a conference room, for example, “with password protection, just to make sure it’s you, all your desktop information moves to that display.”

Marusic said he looks to the future with optimism. “I truly feel that this is going to be the best 10 years coming up,” he said.

“It will be a period where if you’re trying to grow and you make some changes, you’re going to grow ... If you broaden your horizons and change the mental model — what business you think you’re in to ‘you’re in the information-sharing business’ — there is huge growth opportunity.” n — Brent Hoskins www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | J a n u a ry 2019 | 27

BTA West Jan 19.indd 2

12/27/18 2:25 PM

COURTS & CAPITOLS

Your Social Media Image Dealers must cultivate successful strategies by: Robert C. Goldberg, general counsel for the Business Technology Association

T

he dealership owner on the BTA Legal Hotline was irate. He wanted to know how fast I could file a legal suit, obtain an injunction and gather damages from a customer. Cost was not an issue. He would no longer tolerate the libelous, slanderous and malicious Facebook posts made by his customer. After patiently allowing the dealer to explain his problem and vent his frustration, I began to ask questions, seeking facts to eliminate the emotion of the moment.

The customer leased a color copier/MFP from the dealership for 36 months, along with a maintenance agreement. The machine had been at the customer’s location for six months and had run 180,000 copies. During those six months, there had been three service calls for routine matters. One preventive-maintenance service call had been made as well. Th re had never been a complaint regarding color quality, but the customer insisted the machine was a lemon and that the dealer should take it back. The dealer explained that the lease was not cancellable and there were 30 months remaining. The customer threatened that if the dealer did not take the machine back, he would destroy the dealer’s reputation on social media.

The first post was a simple “Don’t do business with XYZ Company, as it does not stand behind its products or customers.” The second alleged that XYZ sold inferior and defective equipment. By the seventh post, the customer contended that the owner of XYZ was dishonest and should be arrested for criminal conduct. The dealer had elected to ignore the posts and had not responded to any of them. In fact, he was not aware of them until another customer alerted him.

The first lesson to be learned is not to make emotional decisions when dealing with business problems. Time and money are an issue, and must be part of the equation when figuring out the best course to follow. The second lesson is that you need to monitor social media to see what is being said about your company. Dealerships should have social media strategies that seek favorable reviews and they should respond properly to any negative statements. Ignoring a situation does not make it go away and, often, it leads to escalating statements by the individual.

In the situation at hand, there were several options for the dealer. Of course, taking back the copier/MFP and cancelling

the maintenance agreement was an option. This raised issues with the leasing company and was not justifi d under the circumstances. It was subsequently determined that a competitor had quoted a lower cost for color copies and the customer wanted to take advantage of the savings. The owner of XYZ had several conversations with the customer prior to the first post and felt no further action was necessary. Had the dealer been monitoring social media posts, he could have promptly responded to the customer and diffused the situation.

A typical response could have been: “We know you are not happy with your copier/MFP, but we note that in the six months you have had it, you successfully ran 180,000 copies and only had three minor service calls. At XYZ, we strive to satisfy every customer and will be reaching out to you in that eff rt.” If a second post followed, the response could be: “We regret you have been unable to return our calls. We remain committed to our satisfaction goal. As you will note, our 4.9 rating is indicative of our success.” The goal is to remain positive, express company attributes and appear reasonable. If this approach proves successful, the customer should be asked to amend the original post or delete it. At the same time, when a positive review or post is made, thank the customer. Creating relationships is the strength of our industry.

If a post is outright slanderous and untrue, you can reach out to the platform and see if the company will investigate it and potentially take it down. This is not a simple task and it is often frustrating. In this situation, the statement that the individual was dishonest and should be arrested for criminal conduct went beyond mere opinion and could be grounds for removal.

The statements could also be grounds for legal action, as the dealer originally thought. This is an expensive process with uncertain results that may not quickly resolve the situation.

Social media influences business decisions every day. Dealers must protect their social media presence and cultivate successful strategies. Start the new year off right by assigning the responsibility of your social media presence to an employee today. n Robert C. Goldberg is general counsel for the Business Technology Association.

He can be reached at robert.goldberg@sfnr.com.

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Goldberg Jan 19.indd 1

12/26/18 4:04 PM

FP ad Jan 19.indd 1

12/20/18 3:35 PM

DEALERS HELPING DEALERS

Managing Meter Collection Dealers share feedback on tools, DCAs & automation Compiled by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

F

ollowing is another of the questions submitted by a dealer member as part of BTA’s new Dealers Helping Dealers resource, and many of the answers received. Th se answers and others can be found in the members-only section of the BTA website. Visit www.bta.org/Dealers HelpingDealers. You will need your username and password to access this member resource.

How are you managing meter-collection activities? What tools are you using? What happens when your client won’t install a DCA or allow automated meter-collection activities?

“We use the Kyocera tools such as the device emailing us meter reads, or KFS, which has the meter-reading capability. If they won’t allow us to use these tools, we use the old-fashioned way of faxing a meter read sheet over and they fax it back.”

Scott Casselman, owner Budget Business Systems, Mineola, Texas “Through Kyocera’s KFS. If a client won’t allow it, we have a clause that we can charge the client.”

Jerry Jehn, president Waltz Business Solutions, Crestview Hills, Kentucky “We push to have all devices added to a meter collection; if not, we use email through e-automate or call them quarterly.”

Sam Stone, president Stone’s Office Equipment Co. Inc., Richmond, Virginia “We converted from PrintFleet to FMAudit and have been pleased. We have someone reviewing FMAudit activity constantly and attempting to manage supply fulfillment. So far, so good. We only have one major client without a ‘connected fleet.’

Theclient agreed to a monthly base of prints based on historical data. We conduct a semiannual walkthrough and have found the monthly billing to be extremely accurate. We don’t recommend this process, but for now it’s working with our client.”

Art Schwartz, president Imaging Systems for Business, Somerset, New Jersey “For the majority of clients we use Ricoh and Konica’s meter-

reporting capabilities. For others we use a device. For those that won’t allow it, we work out the best mutual way possible.”

Dave Carson, president Plus Inc., Greenville, South Carolina “We use FMAudit and Ricoh’s remote retrieval system. We have them enter meters on our ECi system when possible; we email with the ECi system. We also have a few old-school holdouts that we call or fax, but they better have nice service contracts.”

Dennis McGalliard, president Northern Business Products, Redding, California “Print Audit. We charge a monthly premium for those that do not allow the DCA.” John Eckstrom, president Carolina Business Equipment Inc., Columbia, South Carolina “We created our own appliance we sell as a service. It’s $199 for the hardware and $9 per month, baked into the base service.”

Brett Butler, CEO Excel Office Services, Los Angeles, California “Utilizing Konica Minolta vCare.”

George Peckham, president Office Systems of Texas, Houston, Texas “We currently use several methods. First, we try to have every machine email us the meters directly. If that’s not possible, we then use an employee to call for meters. Finally, if that does not work, we send a person out to get the meters. We feel that it is our job to collect, not to put a burden on our customers.”

Dan Castaneda, general manager International Copy Machine Center, El Paso, Texas Do you have a question to ask your fellow dealers? Email it to brent@bta.org with the subject line: “Dealers Helping Dealers.” Office Technology will share your question with the full dealer membership with a request for guidance from your fellow dealers. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at brent@bta.org or (816) 303-4040.

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12/21/18 11:16 AM

AIMED VIEWPOINT

2018 AIMED Conference BTA mailing peer group hosts event Dec. 5-6 by: Brent Hoskins, Office Technology Magazine

A

IMED, BTA’s mailing equipment peer group, hosted its 2018 AIMED Conference Dec. 5-6 at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event featured a keynote address, “Postal Service & Mailing Industry Trends,” led by Steven Monteith, vice president of marketing for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The event also included a dealer panel discussion and three additional educational sessions. The dealer panel, “Diversifying Your Product & Services Off rings in a Changing Market,” was moderated by Carl Amacker, CEO of FP Mailing Solutions.

The panelists: Frank Shoaf, president, Central Business Systems Inc., Lexington, Kentucky; Vernon Stevens II, senior vice president, Southern Business Machines, Evansville, Indiana; and Craig Wasilchak, president and CEO, Alternative Business Automation Solutions, Arlington, Texas.

The three educational sessions: “Crushing B2B Digital Media: How LinkedIn Can Impact Your Inbound Sales Funnel,” led by Wasilchak; “Certifi d Opportunities, Return Receipts Requested,” led by Bob Goldberg, BTA general counsel; and “Hiring & Retaining the Right Employees for Today’s Opportunities,” led by Sally Brause, director of human resources consulting, GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.

In addition to the educational sessions and dealer panel, the conference gave attendees time during breaks to visit with fellow dealers and the exhibiting sponsors. On the evening of Dec. 5, attendees traveled to the MGM Grand to attend a Cirque du Soleil KÀ performance.

“The feedback from our attendees was very positive,” said Stevens, AIMED president. “Th y welcomed the opportunity to reconnect with other mailing equipment dealers, attend compelling educational sessions and learn about the latest products off red by our exhibiting sponsors. In addition, many attendees remained in Las Vegas for the subsequent Capture the Magic event, hosted by BTA West.”

The 2018 AIMED Conference exhibiting sponsors: Carolina Wholesale, Clover Imaging Group, DEMAND, Formax, FP Mailing Solutions, Print Management Partners and Winn Solutions.

For information on BTA’s next event, the 2019 BTA National Conference, to be held March 22-23 in Orlando, Florida, see the ad on pages two and three or visit www.bta.org/BTAOrlando. n Brent Hoskins, executive director of the Business Technology Association, is editor of Office Technology magazine.

He can be reached at (816) 303-4040 or brent@bta.org.

Clockwise from top: The 2018 AIMED Conference featured a keynote address, three educational sessions and a dealer panel; Wasilchak; Brause; Amacker; the dealer panelists were (left to right) Stevens, Wasilchak and Shoaf; Goldberg; and Monteith presents his keynote address.

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AIMED Jan 19.indd 1

12/26/18 4:37 PM

EDUCATION CALENDAR January 23

BTA Building My Business Webinar: “Secret Sauce: The Missing Link to Closing More Deals” In this webinar, Melissa Whitaker of Melissa Whitaker International will discuss the top two ingredients in her “secret sauce” to fill the missing link on how to build trust and relationships faster, close more deals and hold more profi . Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

February 7

BTA Building My Business Webinar: “Selling From the Inside Out” In this webinar, Larry Coco of Coco Training & Coaching LLC will show attendees the processes required to build an inside business development team that supports outside sales reps by setting appointments for new business opportunities. Visit www.bta.org/BMB to register.

11-13 BTA Sales Management Workshop Orlando, Florida

Taught by Kim Ward of Learning Outsource Group (LOG), the BTA Sales Management Workshop focuses entirely on the “how-to” skills that will help each attendee reach his (or her) full potential as a great sales leader and coach, as well as best practices to build and sustain elite, high-performance sales teams. Visit www.bta.org/SalesMgt to register.

March 1

FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0

Austin, Texas FIX, BTA’s popular service workshop taught by Ronelle Ingram, teaches attendees how to determine the actual cost of the service hour (burden rate) and improve overall service department profi ability. Visit www.bta.org/FIX to register.

22-23 2019 BTA National Conference - Hosted by BTA Southeast Orlando, Florida The 2019 BTA National Conference, hosted by BTA Southeast, will feature: a keynote address presented by retired 1st Sgt. Matt Eversmann; four additional educational sessions; two dealer panel discussions; time to network with peers and sponsors; an evening at Epcot for a laser and fireworks show; and a ticket to a Disney theme park of your choice. BTA member dealers receive 2-for-1 registration and can use their $150/$250 discount codes received with membership. Visit www.bta.org/BTAOrlando to register.

26-27 ProFinance 3.0

Duluth, Georgia (an Atlanta suburb) Taught by John Hey and Todd Johnson of Strategic Business Associates, ProFinance 3.0 incorporates industry changes into the industry model. With more than 30 key benchmarks, this management tool will help you and your team achieve double-digit operating income. Visit www. bta.org/ProFinance to register.

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Education or call (800) 843-5059.

www.offi cetechnol ogymag.co m | J a n u a ry 2019 | 33

Calendar Jan 19.indd 1

12/26/18 4:11 PM

BTA HIGHLIGHTS BTA would like to welcome the following new members to the association:

Dealer Members Advanced Business Solutions Inc., Lubbock, TX American Copy Service Center Inc., Waterbury, CT Atlas Reproduction, Casper, WY Axion Business Technologies, Cranston, RI Brady’s Business Systems, Grand Blanc, MI Dakota Business Solutions Inc., Mandan, ND Fastforward Digital Solutions Inc., Miami, FL Image Source, San Bernardino, CA KenMark Office Systems Inc., Mashpee, MA Legacy Business Solutions Inc., Downey, CA MCM Business Systems Inc., Nutter Fort, WV Mercury Document Imaging Inc., Van Nuys, CA Netwise Resources, Indianapolis, IN Ohio Business Machines, Cleveland, OH Premier Business Products Inc., Troy, MI United Business Machines, Londonderry, NH Vendor Members DLL, Wayne, PA In Time Tec, Meridian, ID Royal Imaging International, Chatsworth, CA AIMED Vendor Member DataPrint Technology Inc., Woodside, NY

For the benefit of its dealer members, each month BTA features two of its vendor members in this space.

DLL, a fully owned subsidiary of Rabobank with its U.S. headquarters in Wayne, Pennsylvania, offers asset financing and leasing to equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors around the world. The company focuses on a selection of industries — food and agriculture; health care; construction; transportation and industrial; office technology; clean technology; financial services; and mobility. By specializing, DLL has developed a real understanding of its chosen sectors. And, it is flexible enough to adapt to its partners’ changing needs, because DLL believes that by working together, you achieve more. www.dllfinance.com

BTA’s districts will host five events in 2019, giving dealers opportunities to network and gather new ideas for their businesses. Member dealers can receive 2-for-1 registration for only $49 by using their $150 member discount code.

Visit www.bta.org/BTAEvents for more information.

In Time Tec partners closely with clients to understand their business requirements. In collaborating strategically, the company provides immediate return on investment via affordable, long-term software services. In Time Tec’s areas of expertise include: mobile, web, desktop and embedded development; quality assurance in test automation, continuous delivery, AWS and Azure; Salesforce; DevOps; and consulting. Utilize the combined knowledge, skills and experiences of In Time Tec’s diverse team of software developers to help grow your business and enable innovation. www.intimetec.com

For information on BTA member benefits, visit www.bta.org/MemberBenefits

A full list of BTA vendor members can be found online at www.bta.org.

For full contact information of these new members, visit www.bta.org.

2019 BTA Events

For more information, visit www.bta.org.

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Highlights Jan 19.indd 1

12/26/18 4:15 PM

MEMBER BENEFITS Included with $430 BTA dealer membership: Legal Services • Industry advice & guidance via the BTA Legal Hotline • Sample legal agreements & contracts customizable for your dealership • Contract reviews • Data security & patent troll guidance & brochures • National industry campaign against fraudulent telemarketing of copier/MFPs & computer supplies

Publications • Monthly Office echnology magazine • Weekly BTA Hotline e-newsletter

Channel Trends & Statistics • BTA Compensation Report • BTA Finance Report • BTA Service Report

Available to members at reduced fees: Channel Trends & Statistics • 2016 Business Equipment Quota Index (BEQI) • Keypoint Intelligence-Buyers Lab bliQ — competitive intelligence & sales tools • Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends reports

BTA Events & Educational Offerings

• Registration to BTA’s district-hosted events & annual national conference • Classroom training programs covering all aspects of your business, including training for sales reps, sales managers and service managers, as well as a financial benchmarkin workshop to help grow your business • Online workshops that include a 15-week service success training program for supervisors and managers, and an in-depth sales workshop consisting of 13 modules for your entire sales team • CompTIA exam voucher discounts • IT University online courses • Logical Operations’ User Productivity Courseware & Axzo Crisp Series

Available to members at competitive rates: Insurance Programs

• Business executive life • Disability, long- and short-term • Health discount card providing medical, dental, vision, hearing, lab & prescription discounts

Business Support Services • Ask the Analyst service • Monthly Building My Business webinars • Sample job descriptions • Sample compensation plans

Discount Promo Codes • $400 in discounts with a one-year membership or $950 in discounts with a two-year membership to apply toward educational workshops or BTA events

BTA Scholarships • The opportunity to apply for educational scholarships of $3,000, $1,500 & $1,000 awarded to children of BTA member dealers & the children of their full-time employees.

Applications due each year by May 1.

BTA Navigator Program • OEM co-op reimbursement program for BTA dues & educational workshop tuition. Check with your supplier!

Business Support Services • Background checks • Business valuation services • Collection services • Credit card processing • Credit report & business information services • Employee assessment tools • On-hold messaging service • Recruitment services • Relationship management/CRM • Telemarketing/lead generation • VoIP communication solutions

Discounted Programs • BTA Marketplace discounts & value-added offerings • Car rental discounts • Device monitoring & management • Gas & electricity volume purchasing agreements • Hard drive security solutions • Marketing solutions • Mobile discount programs • Product evaluations & side-by-side comparisons • Shipping & freight discounts

• Medical, life, health, dental & vision plans through an insurance brokerage service • Section 125 cafeteria plans • Term life

For more information, visit www.bta.org/Benefits www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | J a n u a ry 2019 | 35

Benefits Jan 19.indd 1

12/26/18 2:24 PM

SERVICE CONNECTIONS

The $200k Field Service Tech Calculate your service tech hourly burden rate by: Ronelle Ingram, service professional

“W

hy must my field service tech generate a $200,000-plus yearly revenue to cover a $25-perhour wage?” If you do not know how to calculate the answer, think about attending BTA’s next FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0 workshop, to be held March 1 in Austin, Texas.

BTA’s one-day, eight-hour FIX workshop will teach you an easily understandable way to realistically calculate the hourly burden rate of each of your service personnel — no guessing, no smoke and mirrors. You will learn how to calculate (using the FIX Excel spreadsheet) your own company’s service tech hourly burden rate.

It is impossible to accurately figure out the cost of any technical service your company off rs without understanding how to accurately calculate the hourly burden rate of each technical staff member.

BTA’s FIX workshop teaches each attendee how to accurately calculate each of his (or her) tech’s hourly burden rates, be it a $15-per-hour printer tech, a $25-per-hour OEM-certifi d fi ld service engineer or a $50-per-hour certifi d document management guru. Whether your company is a large dealership or a small one, the FIX Excel spreadsheet, given to each FIX workshop attendee, enables you to calculate what each of your service department employees is costing your company before any profit s added.

A typical comment I have heard multiple times from frustrated BTA member CEOs begins with, “We are a sophisticated, successful company. I know our hourly service burden cost is upward of $125, but how do I prove this number to my sales department? We continue to attend industry events. We are told that our service department can make 50-percent-plus profi s. On closer inspection, these profi s are obtained by charging our own sales and administration for all the technical assistance we receive from our own service department.

“I have the power to shift some of the cost burdens from the service department to the sales department,” the company owner continues. “But I am receiving pressure to substantiate these high costs of the service burden rate. If I pay a senior, OEM-trained, CompTIA Net+ and CDIA-certifi d tech $50 per hour, how can I prove he actually costs the business upward of $125 per hour?”

If your fi ld technicians are regularly assisting with sales presentations, end-user training, equipment setup, working with the sales department on complicated solutions bids,

doing equipment installations, etc., without the service department receiving its fair share of the revenue, you are reducing the hours the tech is available to generate other revenue.

Your service department will never be able to achieve 50-percent-plus profi ability if its available workable hours are given — not sold — to your sales department.

An additional issue conscientious dealers face is the desire to improve their efficiency rates to help reduce their burden rates. Theproblem is intensifi d because they are not sure how this burden rate is actually calculated. A dealer with a small company in the Great Lakes area asked me, “I know my techs are costing the company about $95 per hour. How can management improve our efficiency when it is a mystery to all of us how this $95 hourly burden rate is calculated?”

If your company off rs any of the following services, ask yourself how your company calculates the service labor cost that must be included in the total cost of these off rings: n Presales consultation on necessary hardware needed n Figuring out what software and add-ons need to be part of the solution sale n Taking part in the sales presentation n Installation n Field testing and software customization n Initial and ongoing end-user training n Modifi ations and updates Is the cost of the technical labor hour included as a line item in the internal cost of each sale? Does the tech and service department receive credit for the labor hours used and the profi ability (including a percent of the commission) generated by the sale?

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12/27/18 2:28 PM

Successful dealers often explain to me software; repair or preparation of rental how they (incorrectly) calculate their tech equipment; showroom equipment upkeep; The need to understand service burden rates. “We start with the preparation for sales demos; general inand the ability to tech’s hourly wage, about $20. Th n we house office equipment maintenance; and calculate your true cost of add 13 percent to cover the cost of governvacation, sick leave and holiday pay. the service-hour burden ment-required taxes and then add a little bit Th n there is the issue of poorly manrate will open your eyes more, usually another $10 or $20 per hour, to aged technical time to consider. Do all of cover profi . We know this is just guessing.” your techs begin working on revenue-gento a most appropriate As an example, if a tech makes $20 per erating endeavors at 8 a.m.? Are they workbusiness reality. hour + 13 percent of $20 per hour, you get ing on items that generate service revenue $22.60. Add $20 profit and you get $42.60 per a full eight hours each day? The correct hour. This is not the correct formula. Worse answer is “no.” Even in the best of service yet, the true burden rate of the full-time tech being paid $20 per departments, no tech can consistently use all 40 labor hours hour is in excess of $80 per hour without any profit being added. each week doing work that directly generates revenue that is A savvy businessperson intrinsically realizes $42.60 is too credited to service’s P&L. low a burden rate. Owners, controllers and service managers Additionally, there are all those government-mandated returning from multiday service workshops are consistently taxes, including FDIC, workers’ compensation, Social Security told the cost of the service burden rate is somewhere in the and Medicare. Plus, most employers have chosen to off r costrange of $80 to $120 per hour before any profit is added. When ly perks workers have come to expect, including health insurOEMs provide a cost-per-click charge, they often calculate an ance, long-term disability, mileage reimbursement or compahourly burden rate around $60 per hour. ny cars, tools, uniforms, training, 401(k), educational tuition Some dealers are lulled into not being concerned with their reimbursements, business conferences, coff e, etc., that must techs’ hourly costs to the company. Th y trust their compa- be added to your cost of the burden rate in the form of each nies’ operating systems to automatically calculate the precise tech carrying a portion of the company’s overhead. click cost of each machine, group of equipment or customOnce all of these calculations are made and a realistic hourer. Unfortunately, most are totally unaware of what hourly ly burden rate of $80-plus per hour is reached, the dealer can burden rate is programmed into the operating software that add the percentage of desired profit to the hourly burden rate makes these calculations. to obtain an appropriate (end-user) price. By properly adding, Those who obsess over a mil or two when pricing clicks are subtracting, multiplying and dividing all these pertinent exmissing the greatest deviance in the costing process. In most penses and time allotments, you can establish a more realistic office technology dealerships, labor is the number-one cost. cost of each hour that is actually available for a trained techniWithout an accurate service labor rate in the equation, it is cian to be able to generate revenue for your company. impossible to calculate the true cost of anything.

Theneed to understand and the ability to calculate your true I challenge readers to actually find someone in your deal- cost of the service-hour burden rate will open your eyes to a ership who can tell you what dollar value is being used in the most appropriate business reality. Th re is no accurate way to hourly labor rate fi ld of your operating system. Once found, determine the actual cost of the services provided by your techI believe most of you will have a number that is much lower nical staff without fully understanding and being able to mathethan your actual cost. matically substantiate the actual cost of your service labor hour.

When calculating your technician’s burden rate, you must To find out more about attending the next FIX workshop or take into consideration the total cost of employing the tech- to sponsor a FIX workshop in your office, visit www.bta.org/ nician for 2,080 hours per year (52 weeks at 40 hours a week), FIX or contact Valerie Briseno at valerie@bta.org. BTA member even though most techs are only able to do revenue-generat- tuition for the FIX workshop starts at $245. n ing hours that are credited to the service department — about Ronelle Ingram has 40-plus years of experience as a service 800 to 1,000 hours per year. professional in Southern California. She has served BTA During the course of a year, the tech will be directed (or for many years in many capacities: allowed) to spend 1,000 to 1,200 hours on tasks that do not as an instructor at BTA-sponsored classes and generate revenue credited to the service department. Th se trade shows, BTA’s 2008-09 national president, include: company meetings; technical training; drive time; BTA West president, BTA Southern California goof-off time; helping sales reps; deliveries; cross-training president, BTA Volunteer of the Year other techs; working on in-house computer administration and BTA Trainer of the Year. needs; rebuilding equipment for sales; downloading in-house She can be reached at (760) 249-8133. www.offi cetechnol ogymag.co m | J a n u a ry 2019 | 37

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ADVERTISER INDEX 2-3 • 2019 BTA National Conference

21 • DLL

31 • NuWorld Business Systems

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/BTAOrlando

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13 • Bicom Systems

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11 • Supplies Network

www.bicomsystems.com

(845) 999-6743 / www.docuware.com

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39 • BPO Media

39 • ENX Magazine

17 • Tigerpaw

www.workflowotg.com / www.theimagingchannel.com

(818) 505-0022 / www.enxmag.com

www.tigerpaw.com/breakfree

25 • Brother

38 • FIX: Cost Management for Service 2.0

7 • Toshiba

www.brother-usa.com/partners

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/FIX

www.business.toshiba.com/recruitment

23 • BTA Events Sweepstakes

29 • FP Mailing Solutions

15 • US Bank

(800) 843-5059 / www.bta.org/Sweepstakes

www.fp-usa.com/club-red

(715) 381-0207 / (801) 756-0653 / www.usbank.com/oevs

24 • BTA Scholarship Foundation

40 • HP

(816) 303-4060 / www.bta.org/Scholarships

www.hp.com

5 • Clover Services Group

9 • Muratec

www.cloverservices.com

(469) 429-3300 / www.muratec.com

38 | w­ w w. o f f ic et ec hno lo g y m a g.c om | Ja nua r y 2 0 1 9

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www.offi cetechnol ogymag.com | J a n u a ry 2019 | 39

ENX - BPO ads Jan 19.indd 1

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